ISLAMABAD: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif witnessed a friendly cricket match between Afghanistan ‘A’ and Pakistan ‘A’ here on Saturday.

In the match played at the Shalimar Cricket Ground, the Afghan team beat Pakistan by 54 runs.

Batting first, the guest team with the help of Najibullah Zadran’s aggressive 60 runs off 32 balls managed to cross the 150 mark in the allotted 15 overs. Initially, the match was T-20 but later it was reduced to 15 overs.

Pakistan ‘A’ was represented by four national players - pacers Umar Gul, Mohammad Irfan and batsmen Nasir Jamshed and Shoaib Maqsood.

However, the experienced players failed to deliver against the Afghan side. Umar Gul conceded 30 runs in three overs.

Chasing the target, Pakistan had to lose its opener Nasir Jamshed on the very first ball. Except Babar Azam’s 30 runs, almost all the batsmen could not deliver and in the 15 overs Pakistan scored 100 for nine wickets.

A selected crowd, comprising diplomats, senior government officials and some other people, witnessed the match.

The Islamabad police had taken strict security measures around the venue, disturbing the routine life of the residents in F-6 sector.

Afghan national Abdul Kabeer Dawoodzai said by holding sports events Islamabad and Kabul can improve bilateral relations.

“The current visit of our president is very important in terms of improving relations with Pakistan. Our relations are deeply rooted; We share same history, same religion and same culture. It is time for both the countries to move ahead to strengthen their relations in diverse fields such as trade.”

Haji Asmatullah Wardak, an Afghan businessman who came with President Ghani, told Dawn: “This is high time for both the countries to improve relations in the greater interest of their citizens.

Published in Dawn, November 16th , 2014